Ray….
That’s interesting. I tried Ilford Printasia Photo Satin and found it a bit flat….even with a Canon. Now trying Kodak Ultima Satin and like that very much.
You’re tempting me to try the Ilford Pearl
BTW: I also have a Canon printer. Double the goodness maybe.
Colin
Ray,
I also get very nice results on the Ilford Pearl. My Epson 890 likes it a lot. I also have the Ilford Smooth Gloss paper, which does a decent ( expecially for the price ) job when subbed for Epson Premium Glossy , but the Pearl is better for me.
🙂
Brent
Warning for Grant : the following post contains the word Canon 3 times. Viewer’s discretion is advised… 🙂
BTW: I also have a Canon printer. Double the goodness maybe.
Colin
You lucky one… 🙂 I must say though I love my HP 7660. It’s given me quite remarkable printouts (and some will say I’m pushing it here) more so since I switched to Mac. Sure thing, however, the next printer is a Canon.
I liked the Pearl much. It reminds me of the photo paper my family used when I was a kid. It gives texture to pictures, a sense of depth. It’s probably all in my head… 😉
Ray
Brent, is it still at Sam’s or are you gettin it elsewhere now. I still haven’t tried it but anxious to say the least. Gettin frustrated with the price of Epson Premium glossy. Gettin frustrated with alot lately.
Ray….
I have the Canon i850 printer which is now obsolete. Too my untrained eye it produces great prints…but…. It seems to throw a tantrum on some images and the last inch or so seems to be at a different resolution…that’s the only way I can describe it. Very noticeable lines and grain. Can’t pin it down yet….and it’s a PC I run so maybe I should ask my friend Bill G.
Be interested to know what new printer you go for.
Colin
Colin, have you tried to replace the print head assembly yet ?
Jodi….
On the i850 the printheads are in the cartridges. I haven’t changed the cartridge holder because it hasn’t seen a lot of use really.
Probably cheaper to buy a new printer if I can’t fix it.
Colin
Colin, it depends on your needs.. I do a lot of photo printing, so I’d go for the Canon i9100D or i960. I’d have to check them out again, since I got my HP 7660 for a few months now, I can’t remember the exact model I wanted (but I think it was the i960).
Could it be that your current printer needs a clean up, a general one? The mechanic that holds the paper might be in need of a good in depth clean up. It wouldn’t hurt.
And the thing about my HP printing better under Mac isn’t a joke, I showed this to my friends, as for the first weeks, my PC was still connected. I printed the same photo, on the PC and the Mac, and instinctively, we could tell which one was from the Mac (vibrant colours). Sorry, it’s not and ad for the Mac, it’s only my own little story!
Ray
Jodi,
" Brent, is it still at Sam’s or are you gettin it elsewhere now. I still haven’t tried it but anxious to say the least. Gettin frustrated with the price of Epson Premium glossy. Gettin frustrated with alot lately.
" It’s still available at our Sam’s club ( the smooth gloss, that is ). The stock keeps going down , I suspect it was a special purchase and we won’t see it again once it’s gone. I prefer the Pearl, though, it is similar to the Colorlife as a texture.
🙂
Brent
I needed 50 sheets of photo paper the other day and at Sam’s Club had a box of Kodak in my hand when I suddenly decided to put it back and try the Ilford smooth gloss. I hesitated because I thought I remembered a post that said it did not do well on HP.
But trying it myself it was great! Some photo papers have faint telltale signs of different color ink when looking across the picture from the side, the Ilgord had none.
There are three great choices out there now in my opinion; The Ilford smooth gloss, Fujifilm Premium Plus glossy, and Kodak and probably preferred in that order too.
Pete
Guess I’ll chime in on the Ilford paper too. I’ve been using the Ilford Galerie Smooth Gloss with very good results on an HP 932C. There’s a sheet included that tells you what settings to use for various printers.I can usually find it at Sam’s in 100 sheet boxes.
CR
Ray, the HP 7690 has continued to go down in price here; it started at nearly $300 US and is now at $183 US at our local Sam’s. Are you still happy with the 7660?
Thanks, Chuck
Ray, make that 7960….I think.
Still very happy! Its price (7660) hasn’t fallen here, but it’s on sale quite regularly. Cartridge, however, are cheaper then they were six months ago.
Ray
Thanks, Ray – still on the short list!
